Rank: Guru
Rating: 90%, 161 votes
Hello tango13
(01) Which partition(s) is/are FAT32?
(02) Which partition(s) is/are NTFS?
(03) Do you mean your OS partition is FAT32?
A Microsoft Windows OS on FAT32 cannot "see" NTFS partitions. Conversely though, it can see FAT32 and NTFS partitions if the Microsoft OS partition is NTFS.
(04) If your OS is on a FAT32 partition, you need to convert it to NTFS if it is to be able to "see" other NTFS (and FAT32) partitions.
(05) If I didn't understnd you correctly, please, in detail, explain the problem again and tell us what the file system is on each of the partitions you refer to.
(06) What did you install from Toshiba OEM discs?
(07) Do you mean that, after performing one reinstall of WinXP Home that you then used the Toshiba System Restore CDs to restore the system again? (effectively wiping out the 1st reinstall of Windows XP you said you performed)?
(08) What precipitated your reinstalling your OS in the 1st place? (I ask because the reason(s) may be connected to the issues you are currently experiencing.)
(09) Your media player and codec issues are not related to your file system issue(s).
(10) How many **DIFFERENT** commercially-produced DVDs have you attempted to play in your laptop's DVD ROM drive?
(11) The DVD ROM drive spinning and not being able to read your DVDs is either (1) a media compatibility issue or (2) the media is dirty or damaged, or (3) a mechanical issue w/ your DVD ROM drive. In any case, I seriously doubt if it is a software issue. IOW, I believe it is a hardware issue.
(12) Make sure of the following:
(A) The movies you are attempting to play are actually on DVD media and not Blue Ray or some other media type that is incompatible w/ your optical drive (DVD ROM drive).
(B) The media (discs) are clean and not scratched, warped or otherwise damaged.
Please, post back here w/ answers to these questions along w/ any more questions, observations, or comments you might have. Let us know also what else you've tried in attempts to correct the issues you're experiencing.
Thank you
BJ @:)
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Comments:
Apr 18, 2008
- Although it can run on a FAT32 file system, XP was designed to run on NTFS. I think Microsoft developed XP so it could run on FAT32 because it was the transistion OS, so to speak, from the world of FAT32 to NFTS file systems (for the consumer market). This also made the "upgrade path" easier, too, for those brave (or unwitting) enough to actually upgrade an old OS to a new one (rather than perform a clean install).
When 'XP hit the streets, NTFS had been around a long time already beginning w/ NT then on to Windows 2000. Those were Microsoft's business or "enterprise" level client and server operating systems at the time.
Many people kept their XP machines on FAT32 primarily because they didn't know any better. Quite often, they didn't convert to NTFS until hard disk drive storage capacities of > 32GB forced them to. See
HERE and
HERE for more details.
If there was a link on his desktop to convert to NTFS directly following the OEM restore you performed, then his file system is FAT32. FAT32 can't handle file sizes larger than 4GB nor can XP format FAT32 volumes greater than 32GB. FAT32 is also far less efficient when it comes to hard disk drive storage space usage than NTFS. So, for a number of reasons, you'd be far better off converting the FAT32 file system to NTFS.
***This recommendation is assuming the system is stable and the "build" is fairly new. I wouldn't do this on a system that's been running for long enough to develope problems over time. In that event, I'd do the OEM restore then, directly after, convert the file sytem to NTFS***
Do, let me know what your friends says and the results of your next steps, etc.
